Sanctuary
by splica
Summary: AU. 'The Sins of the Uchiha.' After he is betrayed and everything he loved destroyed Sasuke meets a boy named Naruto, whose own dark secrets may just reveal the hidden past of the Uchiha family...SasuNaru.
1. Chapter 1: The Missing Uchiha Brother

**Sanctuary**

_by splica_

_Summary: _AU. 'The Sins of the Uchiha.' After he is betrayed and everything he loved destroyed Sasuke meets a boy named Naruto, whose own dark secrets may just reveal the hidden past of the Uchiha family...SasuNaru.

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Naruto! Or the later idea that...is a major spoiler. I'll properly disclaim it later though, you'll have to wait and see!

_Rating: _T, may go up later...

_Author's note: _My first multi-parter! Wish me luck XD I'm used to one-shots so this is a big undertaking for me but the ideas I have for this just wouldn't fit into a shorter story so...yeah, cheer me on? I've combined the prologue & chapter one because...well the prologue was _tiny _and I'm not that cruel :haha: Also unbeta'd for the moment...

_Warnings:_ Just language mainly, a little bit of violence

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><p><strong>Prologue – The Massacre; <strong>

The tower of fire just kept growing.

Uchiha Sasuke watched it with a kind of morbid curiosity. He had the vague feeling that he might have gone into shock as he stood just staring into the flickering flames, unable to move or tear his eyes away or do anything. He should have been running, calling for help, trying to escape, anything but just standing there and watching. Just looking on as the fire destroyed his home.

The building was called the Uchiha Financial Corporation Centre, Sasuke had known it as the place his parents spent every waking hour, where he'd spent most of his days as a child loitering in the grand hall waiting for his older brother to finish and take him home, and then later on as a teenager learning how to use the software his parents had designed. This was where his family empire had grown, where he had aunts and uncles and cousins. It had been the only constant thing in his life and now...now it was being destroyed.

"Itachi!" He couldn't understand it, any of it. Why...why would he do such a thing? What could he possibly hope to gain from this massacre? "Itachi!" He screamed the word into the blazing inferno, getting no reply, just the creaking of metal and the crackling of the flames as they ate up everything in their way.

He just stood there, locked away in one of the many office rooms, where he'd barricaded himself. He knew, without a doubt, that his parents were in here, somewhere above him. He knew that those same aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews would be up there with them, possibly trapped with no way out. He knew that thousands of innocent employees had probably died if they hadn't been lucky enough to be close enough to the ground to escape. And he knew that his brother was the cause of all this.

Collapsing to his knees as the truth finally hit him Sasuke looked on in despair as the fire began to eat around the edge of the door, watching as the flames finally broke through and came towards him. There was no way out, he was going to die. The only other exit was the window behind him, but that way held the promise of death just the same way as the door. His only choice was between a quick death and a slow one. In the end the fall might not kill him but still, he just couldn't seem to move, to gather up the energy needed to try his luck.

It was strange how he felt so calm about it all. His parents were probably gone, his home had been destroyed and his brother...why had Itachi done this?

"Brother..." the sound was stolen in the roar as the fire advanced. They danced and flickered in front of him, the heat of it making him sweat and the smoke filling his vision and blinding him to everything. He could just make out the whirls of yellow fire, the harsh brightness of it blacking out everything else.

He was trapped, and no one was going to come to his aid.

"Ah, there you are," a voice said smoothly above him and Sasuke yanked his head up to stare up at his brother in disbelief.

"Itachi...what..."

"I thought you'd be in this room, you always did like messing around with the computers when they weren't looking," bending down to his brother's level Itachi met Sasuke's eyes with a look of concern. "Are you not going to try to run?"

"I...what's..."

"You know what's happening brother," Itachi told him and Sasuke flinched. He knew...he knew he just didn't want to believe it. He'd seen it, he'd watched everything but he still refused to believe any of it could possibly be true. The words he'd overheard, the things he'd spied on...none of it made sense!

"Why? Mother and...why..."

""Why would I do this?" Itachi finished for him.

Sasuke nodded jerkily, watching as his beloved brother just sighed and gestured around him. "Isn't the fire beautiful? So powerful, taking down everything in its way to grow; I want you to be like that brother."

"You're not making any sense! Why did you set the fire? Why did you...why did you kill them..." The words trailed off and Itachi just continued to look at him, his face an emotionless mask that Sasuke wanted to destroy. How could he not feel anything? Knowing that he'd done this, knowing that he'd murdered his own parents? Knowing that he was killing his younger brother...

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself little brother. Hate me, despise me, search for the truth and then come back to me. When you have the answers you'll know and then...then maybe..." He trailed off and Sasuke just glared at him.

"How did you get in here?" He finally demanded.

"I think we'll keep that a secret," Itachi replied, eyes flickering behind him at the flames. They had seemed to stop for a moment when Itachi had entered but now they continued on their deadly path, falling upon the computers and the chairs and the tables and eating away at them, growing all the more.

Itachi reached out, poking Sasuke in the forehead before bringing his hand down sharply on the young man's neck, catching him when his brother collapsed against him. He cradled the smaller body to him, carefully reaching out with his hand, stroking his fingers through his younger brother's soft hair. He wanted this time, this one last time.

"Forgive me Sasuke...again, next time. Just run, run as far as you can and search for the truth, and then, when you finally discover it...come back to me."

Pressing a small kiss to his beloved brother's head he opened the window, looking down at the drop beneath. It would hurt but Sasuke would survive, he had to survive.

Mustering his strength Itachi threw his brother out the window.

He watched as Sasuke fell, looking on as he plunged into one of the hedges that grew along the outside of the building. He saw his brother twitch before he fell still once more.

Giving a small smile the young man finally let go of the willpower that had been the only thing keeping him standing. Leaning against the wall he slid down until he sat on the floor in an ungraceful sprawl.

He coughed, reaching out and holding his side, watching as the blood leaked out onto his fingers.

The smile was still on his face when the flames finally reached him, his last thought of his brother when they began to flicker over his legs. The pain was unbearable but he managed to block it all out. He couldn't worry about the fire, he could only think of Sasuke and the path that lay ahead for him. A dark path, but one he knew his brother could overcome.

"Run Sasuke," he whispered, his voice a harsh whisper swallowed by the roar of the fire. "Run and find the truth and then...then..." His last words were stolen as the flames finally overtook him and he closed his eyes. _I love you brother..._

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><p><strong>Chapter One – The Missing Uchiha Brother; <strong>

"Police are still on the lookout for the whereabouts of the missing Uchiha brother. Uchiha Sasuke, seventeen-years-of-age, is wanted for questioning in relation to the recent arson attack on the Uchiha Financial Corporation Centre. If you have any information regarding him or his whereabouts please contact the police immediately. The older Uchiha brother still remains in the ICU unit of Konoha General Hospital..."

Sasuke glared at the television as the cameras left the blond-haired woman reporter and instead showed the inside of the ICU unit of the hospital. He could just make out his brother under the mass of bandages, the machinery around him struggling to maintain his life. The ominous bleeping could just be heard over the crowd surrounding him and he held a hand up to the glass separating him and the television. Separating him and his brother.

"Itachi..." The word was a curse and his head fell away as he abruptly turned his back on the sight. Roughly pulling on the lib of his cap to cover his eyes, he ducked his head and started to walk away.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he felt a moment of confusion when his fingers caught on something. Grabbing it he pulled a piece of paper out and held it for a moment before smoothing out the creases and reading the words scrawled messily across it.

'_Head to the Ichiraku, they'll help you – Uzumaki Naruto' _

Scowling down at the innocuous piece of paper Sasuke shoved it back into his pocket before starting to walk away from the television shop. This was all _his_ fault...

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><p>When Sasuke had woken up in hospital two days earlier he'd spent the first hour or so just going over everything in his mind. The fire, his brother's words, the <em>truth <em>that Itachi had told him to find.

He'd been just sitting up in his hospital bed when he'd first heard it. The news of his parents' death.

'_I'm just here reporting outside of what used to be the UFCC where a fire struck down the building two days ago. Now we can confirm the deaths of eight people, including those of Uchiha Fugaku and his wife Mikoto. The eldest Uchiha son has been stabilised whilst the whereabouts of the younger son, Uchiha Sasuke are still unknown...'_

Sasuke had turned off the television set after that, watching as the colours bled away and the box went black. So his parents were dead. The thought was a sharp stab to his heart that he quickly stifled, shoving the emotion to the back of his mind where he couldn't hurt him.

He hadn't immediately known why the hospital staff hadn't immediately recognised him, just counted himself lucky that they hadn't. They seemed to believe he was just another average teenaged boy who had fallen down some stairs and ended up with just a few scratches and a sprained wrist for his troubles. Sasuke knew he'd been extremely lucky in that respect, he'd had a mild concussion but other than that he'd been almost perfectly healthy.

It was only when he'd seen his reflection in the bathroom mirror that he'd hazarded a good guess as to why the hospital staff hadn't been able to recognise him. His pale skin was a mottled purple, the left side of his face swollen and both his eyes had been puffy and red. The full extent of his injuries were made clear on his face and he looked away from himself in disgust. He'd been a far cry from the usual stoic young man seen on the television, standing just behind his family to get away from the glares of the cameras.

He wouldn't be doing that anytime soon. Not only was he almost completely unrecognisable as the Uchiha heir but he had no family to hide behind. His brother had seen to that.

He'd smashed the mirror as his anger took over his mind. The nurses had come rushing in to see what was wrong, quickly sympathising with his excuse of hating his own reflection. It wasn't a complete lie; he did hate parts of his reflection. His hair, the same raven-black as his brother's, his mouth, the same shape as his brother's, but most especially he hated his eyes. His eyes, the Uchiha eyes they'd been called. He'd inherited them from his father, as Itachi had before him. Looking into them then he'd hated the mere sight of them, even in their puffy state they were unmistakable. Itachi had ruined him.

"Oh, you poor, poor dear, just look at that hand!" A nurse had tutted at him; carefully holding his injured one in her own as she gently wrapped it in more bandages.

"Vanity will be the death of us all," another sighed, giving him an absent pat on the head before she walked off, closely followed by the first nurse after she'd finished taping his bandages down.

He'd been placed in a general ward, with three other people, a fact he hadn't been happy about. He just hadn't been used to having to share, all his life his parents had given him anything and everything he could have ever desired, he'd had cars, his own house and private hospital care. It was the last he'd bitterly missed at that moment, listening to the beeping of machines and the snores coming from the guy across from him. The only privacy he got came from the curtain that separated his bed from the one next to him. At that point he'd yet to see the guy in that bed but he hadn't cared, his mind had been full of other, more important things.

Looking down at his hand had caused Sasuke to only frown harder, flexing his fingers uselessly and wincing slightly at the ache that had come from them. He hadn't meant to hit the mirror hard enough for it to shatter, he'd just been so _angry_.

"Just you wait Itachi, I'll fucking _kill_ you," he'd muttered to himself.

"Hey!" A voice had called out. After jerking his head up Sasuke had watched as the curtain separating him from his neighbour was pulled back and a blond head stuck out the gap to give him a goofy grin. "Boy, do you ever need anger management classes!"

"Shut up, you have no idea what you're talking about," Sasuke had replied, giving the boy a harsh glare. The blond had actually stuck his tongue out in response, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen in amazement. No one had ever, in his entire life, stuck his tongue out at him. It had been an experience Sasuke hadn't wanted repeated.

"Well, if you're going to talk to yourself where others can hear they're going to talk back to you, stupid," the other boy had said.

Sasuke had growled at him before turning away, hoping the other would take the hint and leave him alone. He had and Sasuke had been left to his own thoughts for a while, trying to ignore the throbbing in his hand and the ache in his head.

He'd been just lying back, prepared to close his eyes and block out the rest of the world when the blond had suddenly popped up beside him, startling him so much he'd almost fallen out the bed. He'd almost hit the other guy but he'd held back, instead he'd openly snarled at him, eyes narrowed almost to slits.

"What the hell do you _want_? Go away!"

"You're that Uchiha guy right?" The blond had asked him quietly. "You know; the younger one?"

Sasuke had stilled immediately. He'd watched the other boy warily as the blond had leaned closer to him, whispering straight into his ear.

"I'm right aren't I? You're the infamous Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Infamous?" Sasuke had repeated, rather stupidly but he'd been so taken aback by the word he'd had to ask. The other boy had grinned triumphantly, sitting back on his heels and leaning his arms on Sasuke's bed.

"So I am right! And yeah, way infamous, the police have been after you for _days_. Don't you watch the news?" The boy had looked at him quizzically for a moment before turning away and grabbing the remote on Sasuke's bedside. "Or did you turn it off?"

Seeming to take Sasuke's silence as an admission the other boy had proceeded to turn the television on, changing channels until he'd finally come across one showing the daily news. After watching it quietly for ten minutes he finally shook Sasuke's arm, pointing excitedly at the TV set. "This is it; this is what I was talking about!"

"_...person of interest in this case...Uchiha Sasuke still missing...wanted in for questioning..." _

"See? I told you, everyone's out there looking for you but I found you first!" The other boy had been almost vibrating in his excitement until Sasuke grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

After forcing the boy's head close to his own Sasuke lowered his own tone to a harsh whisper when he spoke. "If you want to live past the next few minutes you won't tell anyone that you know I might be Uchiha Sasuke."

"Might be?" The boy had replied doubtfully – then he'd snorted. "You do realise I'm not that stupid right? Even I can tell you're Uchiha Sasuke, you look just like your pictures! Well, except you're a bit less...purple in them. Man, what happened to your face anyway?"

Sasuke had glared at him "I could say the same to you! What's with those stupid whiskers anyway?"

The boy had reached up to touch his cheeks before pulling them away. "They're not stupid!" He'd denied, sounding just a bit defensive to Sasuke's smug ears.

He'd just raised an eyebrow at the boy until the blond had eventually sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine! I won't tell anyone. I bet you don't have the guts to burn down a building anyway. You don't really look like arsonist to me."

"Oh yeah? And what does an arsonist look like?"

"You know! All big – with loads of tattoos!"

Sasuke had snorted, unable to stop himself. "You're just full of shit aren't you?"

The blond had scowled at him. "Well, if you're just going to laugh at me don't ask such stupid questions. How should I know what an arsonist looks like? I've never met one until today."

"I'm not a freaking arsonist!" After realising that he'd half-shouted out that last sentence Sasuke had cast a furtive look around, glancing over at the other two occupants in the room who seemed sound asleep. Naruto nudged him in the shoulder before pointing out each one in turn.

"They won't wake up, the guy on the left's been asleep since I got here which was about five days ago and the one on the right is on so many drugs I'll be amazed if he ever wakes up again." The words were said nonchalantly and the blond had given him a shrug when he'd finished. "Well, it's the truth!"

Sasuke had raised an eyebrow at him before giving a small nod. "Okay, so they're not going to wake up. The nurses might come in at any minute though so...whatever you do don't call me Uchiha, or Sasuke. Just...call me Miharu."

"Miharu? You don't look much like a Miharu, more a Yoite." *

"Whatever, just don't call me Sasuke." The dark haired boy had then turned around in his bed, effectively dismissing the blond, closing his eyes and trying to block him out when the other boy complained about being ignored.

"Fine, suit yourself. See if I care," the blond had finally said, walking back behind the curtain that separated the two beds.

Sasuke had smirked to himself, finally submitting to the tug of sleep and letting himself drift away.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Hey, Yoite! Oh hell, like it matters anymore. Sasuke! Oi you lazy bastard get up already!"<p>

After feeling a tug on his arm Sasuke had frowned and tried to pull his arm out of reach, attempting to turn away only to be yanked back harshly. When he'd finally opening his eyes Sasuke had glared up at his awakener, watching as the blond had smiled at him a little sheepishly before a determined expression came over his face.

"Look, you have to leave, now!" He'd tugged on Sasuke's hospital clothes again, a little more urgently this time and Sasuke had slowly sat up. Looking around he'd noticed one of the beds were empty – the guy who hadn't woken up had finally come round and left then.

"What's going on?" He'd asked, sliding off the edge of the bed until he was standing next to the blond. He'd swayed a little but the other boy had grabbed his arms, steadying him.

"They're here!" The boy had whispered to him, pulling Sasuke away from his bed, past the partition until they were standing next to the blonds' bed. He'd crouched down slightly, pulling on Sasuke's arm until he did the same.

"He must have heard me," the other boy had said, frowning in concentration as he'd peered between the gap in the curtains. "Damn it!"

"What is it? What's happening?" Sasuke had finally demanded when the boy had maintained his silence. Everything inside him had been telling him to run and escape but he'd stayed where he was, strangely trusting the blond and waiting until he'd finally turned around to face him again.

"The police are here," he'd said simply. Sasuke had looked at him in surprise for a moment before immediately standing.

"I need to leave before they find me," he'd replied, looking around for an escape. The only ways out of the room were the window and the two double swing doors connecting the room to the hallway outside. For a moment a staggering sense of déjà vu had hit him and he had almost been able to smell the acrid smoke filling his nose again.

"Wait, you can't just run out there! They're out patrolling the corridors. You'll get caught if you just leave," the other boy had tugged him back down to a crouch, looking outside the curtains again before turning back to the dark haired boy. He'd levelled him with an intense look for a moment before speaking.

"Do you swear you didn't light that fire and kill all those people?"

"What the-like hell I'd do that!" Sasuke had spluttered, just barely holding back from punching the blond for suggesting he'd do something so terrible. He wasn't...he wasn't a monster.

_Itachi wasn't a monster either though and he did it..._

He'd shoved the thought away, focusing on what had been happening then as the blond had given him a decisive nod, backing away from the curtain and going towards one of his drawers. Every patient was given one bedside table with three drawers. Sasuke's had been empty, devoid of anything. The other boy's was almost spilling over with get well cards and flowers. There was a pile of instant ramen packets at the back that had Sasuke giving the boy a questioning look.

"I like them!" He'd said defensively having seen the direction of Sasuke's eyes. After rolling his eyes and muttering something like 'rich bastards' he'd started searching through his drawers, finally coming out with a pile of clothes and a cap. He'd handed them over to the dark haired boy with a proud smile, "There you go. One disguise coming up!"

Sasuke just carried on looking at him until the blond had finally asked, "What? Have I got something on my face?"

Holding out the clothes in his arms Sasuke had nodded slightly in the blonds' direction. "How are these supposed to fit me? In case you hadn't noticed I'm taller than you, these will just look odd and draw even more attention."

Sticking his tongue out in response the blond had grabbed the shirt off the top of the pile, holding it up against Sasuke's body. "Well, these belong to a friend of mine who should be about your size, and unless you want to walk around in your hospital get-up you don't really have much of a choice idiot."

Giving the boy a disgruntled look Sasuke had placed the clothes on the blonds' bed and started to untie his hospital gown, watching as it fell to the floor. He'd grabbed the top and pulled it over his head, grabbing the jeans and looking over them quizzically at the blond.

He'd had to smirk when he'd seen the uncomfortable expression on the other's face. He'd been staring at the far wall, pointedly not looking in Sasuke's direction and the dark-haired boy had almost laughed at the look of unease he carried.

"Where's the underwear?" He'd asked, looking down at the jacket and cap that were all that remained of the clothes Naruto had given him.

"Uhr...you'll have to go commando," the boy replied, giving a small, forced laugh.

Sasuke shrugged, "Alright, nothing I haven't done before." Giving another satisfied smile when the other boy choked Sasuke began to pull on the jeans, carefully zipping them up and pulling the jacket on. He'd tugged the cap down onto his head, covering up the white bandages in his dark hair and pulling the lib low over his eyes.

"It's alright, you can turn around now," he'd told the blond, no small amount of amusement clear in his tone.

The other boy had given him a small thumbs-up, before turning back to the curtains and peering round the corner once more. When he'd finished his assessment he had finally faced Sasuke again. "Right, here's what we're going to do," he'd said quietly, motioning with his hand to the guy still asleep in the corner. "I'm going to cause a distraction and when everyone is busy with that...you can get out by the fire escape. You just need to get to the window and climb down." His hand moved until his finger was pointing towards the far window.

Sasuke had crossed his arms over his chest, measuring the distance between the curtain and the window. He'd given a small grin when he'd finished. "Easy," he said.

The blond had snorted, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah, well you get the good part!" He'd said before holding out his hand.

Sasuke had hesitated for just a moment before he grabbed it. "The name's Naruto," the blond had told him. "And you'd better remember the name of the guy who helped you escape from the police! Damn, breaking the law for someone I barely know...well, time for some fun! Just stay behind the curtains until the coasts clear okay? Don't want to be risking my neck for nothing."

Breaking away from the cover Naruto had run across the room, keeping as low to the ground as he could. He'd reached the other remaining patient, quickly making work of all the wires attached to him, pulling them out carefully and grinning when the machines had started beeping in earnest.

The sound had only grown louder and, grabbing hold of the hospital bed he'd started to push it, picking up speed until he was running away with the gurney in front him. "Good luck!" He'd yelled behind him when he'd reached the doors, not slowing down until he crashed into them, the doors swinging wide open from the force of his entrance.

Laughing slightly he'd carried on, running as far away from the room as he could, nurses and doctors following him with shouts of outrage.

_Yeah, good luck Uchiha Sasuke!_

After having watched the other guy leave Sasuke stood for a moment, wondering if he was really all there, listening to him laugh until the sound eventually faded away.

Waiting just a second more Sasuke had eventually crept past the curtains, making his way quietly across the room and ducking under the window, making his way out until he was standing on the metal walkway. Ignoring the pain shooting through his hand as he used it to keep his balance Sasuke started making his way down the stairs, trying to be as quick as possible whilst keeping as quiet as he could,.

Not stopping to look back up again once he'd reached the ground, Sasuke had made his way down the alleyway between the hospital and the next building over. He hadn't stopped running until he was a good three streets away and then he'd collapsed against a wall, panting and holding his injured hand to his chest. His head ached and his chest sent small spasms of pain up his body in protest but he was free.

A small smile spread across his face and he barely held back the hysterical laugh that bubbled up inside of him.

Opening up his fist Sasuke finally looked at the object Naruto had placed there. It was a simple piece of paper with only one line of writing on it. Crumpling it up again he shoved it into one of his pockets. Well, at least he had somewhere to go...

* * *

><p>So now here he was, standing outside what looked like an old, dilapidated theatre building. Checking the address on the piece of paper Sasuke looked at the door sceptically, sure that the blond idiot had written it down wrong.<p>

Well, there was only one way to check. Mustering up his courage Sasuke reached out with his fist, and knocked on the door...

_Tbc._

a/n: *if you get this reference give yourself a cookie XD so what do you think? Worth continuing? r&r and let me know!


	2. Chapter 2: Safety at the Ichiraku

_Warnings:_ More language and violence. Shorter chapter this time, sorry about that XD;

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><p><strong>Chapter Two – Safety at the Ichiraku; <strong>

_Well, there was only one way to check. Mustering up his courage Sasuke reached out with his fist, and knocked on the door..._

There was an ominous booming that had Sasuke raising an eyebrow and backing away slightly, watching the door warily as the door handle began to move slowly downwards.

There was a pause and then it was pulled back sharply by two boys who stood in the doorway staring at him curiously. Sasuke looked back at them, not speaking and watching as their expressions took on a slightly hostile edge. He could feel the waves of danger coming off them but he stayed quiet, waiting to see what they would do.

"And who would you be?" A voice finally asked, the hard edge slightly masked by the other man's way of talking. He sounded so nonchalant, like he didn't care who the hell Sasuke was and just wanted him to go away.

"We don't like strangers here," the other told him, giving him an assessing gaze before resting his eyes on Sasuke's face. "And you don't seem to belong."

_And how would a blind person know that? _Sasuke bit his tongue, catching himself before he voiced his thought aloud, instead watching as those milky eyes turned to the guy's companion.

"He's just a normal boy," he reported before turning back to Sasuke again, "And he still hasn't said what he wants with us," the last was said sharply, and with the promise of future hurt if Sasuke didn't answer correctly.

"I was told to come here," he explained. "Some guy called Naruto-"

"Naruto? You know where he is?" The nonchalant guy asked him, his gaze intent upon Sasuke's face. "And don't lie to us—we'll know if you are."

"I met him at the hospital; he was in the bed next to me. Don't know where the hell he is now though, so don't ask."

There was silence and the blind boy leaned closer to him, Sasuke just barely held himself in place; letting the other boy take him in before he leaned back again. He just barely held back the sigh of relief, tensing up again when the blind boy finally spoke.

"He's not lying," he said decisively, turning to his friend with his brow furrowed. "But what would Naruto be doing in a hospital? It makes no sense for him to go there..."

The other guy nodded, "What's he up to now?"

The blind guy shrugged, causing his companion to sigh before making a humming noise and pinning Sasuke with his stare again. "And how did you get Naruto to tell you about us?"

"I didn't get him to tell me anything," Sasuke denied, eyeing the two freaks in front of him warily. Maybe it had been a bad idea to just follow the idiot's advice; he'd had his trust betrayed once before after all. This had been a huge waste of time; he could have been at Konoha General Hospital by now, instead of being interrogated by these two weirdoes.

"Look," he said, trying to keep his tone even. "I didn't get him to tell me anything, he just gave me the directions, I didn't ask for anything."

The blind boy looked him over again before shaking his head slightly. "He's not lying but he's not telling the complete truth either. He did ask Naruto for something."

"I didn't ask that idiot for anything!" Sasuke replied, his controlled voice cracking slightly under the weight of their eyes. He was really starting to regret having trusted the blond boy.

He regretted it even more when a hand went out and grabbed him, fingers curling around his jacket and tugging slightly. His body moved forward without his permission, stumbling slightly over the doorstep and the heavy door slammed shut behind him.

Sasuke kept moving forward, his head spinning as he tried to figure out exactly what the hell was going on. His feet moved without any conscious decision on his part, his eyes anxiously looking around in all directions as they carried him further into the theatre.

The whole place showed signs of age, parts of the plaster had fallen from the walls, the brick showing beneath. Spider webs clung to the walls and the whole thing looked like it'd crumple down at any given minute. And the darkness...there were no lights, just beams of light showing through the cracks in the ceiling.

"What is this place?" He asked, surprised when the words actually came out. Focusing slightly he realised he could still move his fingers a little, a fact that brought him a little relief, even as his legs finally came to a stop.

"This is the Ichiraku," a soft voice said before him. "A place for people with nowhere else to go." A figure came out of the shadows, standing in the light and looking at him curiously. "What's going on Neji?"

The blind boy – Neji – walked forward and took the girl's arm. "It's alright Hinata, just go and tell everyone that they need to come to the stage We'll tell everyone what's happening then."

"Did you find him?" She asked, looking – if possible – even more nervous when Neji shook his head.

"Not now Hinata, just go and tell everyone what I said."

Hinata looked at the blind boy for a moment before nodding her dark head and scampering off back into the shadows.

Sasuke watched the exchange quietly, raising an eyebrow when Neji turned around to face him. "The Ichiraku is not just a place where anyone can go, Hinata is naive enough to think that everyone can get along—that is why we need to protect her, and everyone else, from outsiders like you. Shikamaru, bring him over to the stage and I'll go see where Lee and Kiba have got to."

"Don't forget Choji," the other boy replied, "He's probably in the kitchen."

Neji nodded before he too disappeared into the shadows. Sasuke didn't understand it; they just seemed to melt into them, vanishing from his sight. His head hurt the more he tried to think about it and he shook it roughly, trying to concentrate as his feet began to move once more, taking him forward.

They were soon in what seemed to be the centre of the old theatre. A large, majestic-looking stage stood on the other side of the room, rows of seats spread out in front of it. Sasuke's feet guided him down the side of the room, past the seats and finally up some side stairs.

Shikamaru moved ahead of him, and Sasuke found he could move by himself again. Preparing himself to run as far away from these freaks as he could Sasuke found large hands grabbing his arms, lifting him bodily from the ground.

"What the hell!" The exclamation fell from his lips as he kicked out his legs, wriggling about in an attempt to get free.

"Put him on here," Shikamaru said, coming back and placing a chair down in front of him.

Sasuke was dropped unceremoniously, landing ungainly on the chair and glaring up at the people gathered around him. He went to move and found himself locked in place again.

Breathing in deeply he attempted to calm himself—trying to stop his anger from gaining control. When he felt he'd calmed down enough he finally turned to the Shikamaru guy next to him.

"What's going on? How are you doing this?"

"That's Shikamaru's Shadow ability," a voice spoke up from next to him. A large guy appeared, one with long brown shaggy hair. Sasuke just barely stopped himself from recoiling.

"Don't tell him anything Chouji," the blind guy said, walking forward and joining the crowd around him. Sasuke kept silent as more people joined their little gathering.

"Who is he?" A blonde haired girl inquired, "He's cute."

"Hey, I saw him first!" Another girl interjected; this one with pink-coloured hair.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Can we focus please? I want this over with as soon as possible."

Neji stepped forward, lowering his sightless-eyes down to Sasuke's level. "What's your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," he could've have bit his tongue when the words fell out of his mouth. What was he doing telling them that? They could call the police and hand him over without a second thought!

"The one on the TV?" A quiet voice asked curiously. It was the same girl he had seen earlier, the naive one Neji had called Hinata. Looking at her closely Sasuke noticed she had the same, milky white eyes as the other boy and they shared the same dark hair and colouring—maybe they were siblings?

Sasuke nodded reluctantly.

"And why did you come here?"

"Because Naruto told me to," he said, his tone taking on a slightly hostile edge. "And if I ever see him again I'm going to kill the bastard!"

"Truth," Neji said, "Although the last part is a half-lie. He wants to do it but he never would."

Sasuke glared at him, "Just try me asshole."

"Hey, hey," Shikamaru interrupted. "Calm down a bit."

"Why should I? You've got me stuck to this chair somehow and you haven't said who _you _are, you just keep asking me stupid questions! My names Uchiha Sasuke, yes, and I came here because some dumbass blond said you would help me!"

"Help you?" A guy replied.

Sasuke's eyes became shuttered and he resolutely kept him mouth closed. He wasn't going to tell these idiots anything.

Shikamaru sighed before waving his hand slightly. Sasuke found he could move again but he kept still, waiting to see what the others would do.

Shikamaru pointed to himself, "My name's Nara Shikamaru, I'm the one who kept you there with my Shadow ability. I wouldn't have done it because it seemed like a waste of time but Neji seemed to think we needed to."

The blind boy shot a glare at Shikamaru before sighing. "Hyuuga Neji, I have the truth ability and I'm the one who's going to find out what you're really up to." He turned his glare to Sasuke before he finished talking but Sasuke just ignored him, turning to the nervous-looking girl clinging to Neji's arm.

"I...I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I can see the future. I...I'm Neji's cousin." She blushed, looking away when Sasuke tried to look her in the eye.

Sasuke was beginning to believe that maybe they could actually see and their eyes were just a strange by-product of whatever weird thing was happening here. She could see the future? Such a thing could never happen!

Choji seemed to be next, grinning down at Sasuke. "I'm Choji and I can grow." Sasuke raised an eyebrow and the other boy suddenly seemed to expand outwards, growing to three times his normal size before shrinking back to normal and giving him a sheepish look. "Uhr...that's it I guess."

The blonde-haired girl stepped forward then, coming closer to Sasuke and smiling at him. "I'm Yamanaka Ino and I can read your mind. At the moment you're thinking about why such a sexy girl like myself is here with these freaks right? Well—"

Ino was cut off abruptly as she was shoved aside by the pink-haired girl. "Haruno Sakura!" She piped up, "I have super strength which is a whole lot more useful than being ale to read minds."

"Is not!" Ino replied, elbowing Sakura in the side. The pink-haired girl narrowed her eyes and reached out a hand to punch the blonde when they were all interrupted by a barking noise coming from the other side of theatre.

A large dog came bounding down the line of chairs, jumping up onto the stage and standing there with its tongue handing out, panting hard. A figure jumped off its back, landing in a crouch before standing up again.

"I found him!" The figure exclaimed proudly. "He's just coming back now."

Neji turned to the figure with a look of distaste. "Why did you bring him in here Kiba?"

Kiba wrapped an arm around the neck of his dog defensively, "Akamaru goes everywhere with me!" He said, covering the dog's ears with his hands. "Don't say such things where he can hear you."

"Kiba, it's an _animal_," Neji pointed out. Kiba only growled at him in warning.

Sasuke watched the whole thing in silent disbelief. That...thing wasn't a dog. It was simply too big to be a dog, at least as tall as this Kiba guy and large enough for a person to actually ride on the back of it. Sasuke even thought the thing was bigger than a horse but he couldn't tell from his current position. The whole thing was like a really bad, weird dream. Unfortunately he couldn't remember falling asleep—at least the whole thing could not get any worse in his opinion.

"Hey everyone, I'm back!" A voice called out.

Sasuke amended his last thought. It definitely could get worse—a hell of a lot worse.

He watched as the group gathered around him left abruptly, running over to the blond who stood rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as they all crowded around him demanding why he'd been gone for so long, and what he'd been up to and why hadn't he contacted them?

Sasuke rolled his eyes, settling back on the chair and waiting fro the idiot to realise he was there.

It didn't take long, there was din in the noise and blue eyes rose up to meet his dark ones. A large smile broke out on the idiots face and he ran down between the chairs. Jumping up onto the stage—a jump that should have impossible but Sasuke was beginning to accept the impossible with this lot—Naruto soon stood in front of him.

"You made it!" He said, sounding stupidly happy about that fact.

Sasuke nodded before glaring at the blond as he finally stood up. "Yeah, and now I'm leaving." He made to go down the side steps when Naruto grabbed his arm, pulling him up short.

"Wait, don't go yet, I haven't explained anything to you!"

"I know, you just left me to be interrogated by these freaks!" A chorus of denials rose up at the last word and Naruto scowled at him briefly before shaking his head.

"I know, I was a bit late but I'm here now! I got here as fast as I could."

Sasuke folded his arms across his chest. "Well? Explain then."

Naruto laughed a little nervously before bowing his head. "I can't." He admitted. Sasuke snorted.

"I didn't think you would. None of you seem very forthcoming with information." He glanced over at Neji but the other guy looked away, dismissing him. Sasuke sneered at his back.

Jerking his head up Naruto shook his head vigorously. "You don't need to go! I, _we_, can help you." His voice sounded so eager that it almost hurt Sasuke to hear it.

Kiba came around beside Naruto then, his big dog following quietly, before stopping and levelling Sasuke with a stare. "If Naruto wants us to we'll help."

Shikamaru came up on Naruto's other side, nodding his head along with Kiba's statement. "If Naruto wants us to," he said.

Staring at them all Sasuke had the thought that maybe—with their help—he could do it. Get revenge on his brother; take him down like he'd taken down Sasuke's family. They could do it, with their weird powers. He'd seen them with his own eyes, he'd _felt_ them. They were strong, the lot of them. And Sasuke needed them if he wanted to succeed, he could use them. Maybe...but first—

"Why would you do this for me?" Sasuke asked Naruto who shrugged at him.

"You just...when you were in the hospital you were so lost. Well, we are too. And if we can help you find what you're forgotten, well, maybe that will help us find it too."

Giving the blond a disbelieving look Sasuke had to ask, "Is that it? The only reason?"

Naruto nodded before grinning at him, "Well, that and I think you're kind of cute."

Sasuke spluttered and Naruto laughed at him, joined by the people gathered around him. Sasuke glared at them for a moment before giving a small smile.

He could do this. He could get revenge for his family. With their help...

He held out his hand, waiting until Naruto nervously took it before he shook the other's briskly. "Let's do it then," he said calmly. "Let's find out what Itachi was hiding from me."

Naruto gave him a slightly worried look before he covered it with a large smile, "Yeah!" He said simply.

Sasuke looked at him curiously but dismissed the nagging worry that crept slowly into his mind. He didn't have time to focus on anything else – his brother came first and then...then everything else could follow.

Even if he was curious about what secrets Naruto seemed to keeping from him...

_Tbc. _

a/n: Ah, the mystery is finally starting! r&r please and thank you!


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